Watch crown seal



April 28, 1964 R. L. DAVIS WATCH CROWN SEAL Filed Feb. 1, 1962 INVENTOR ROBERT L. DAVIS United States Patent 3,130,539 WATCH CROWN SEAL Robert L. Davis, 931 th St., Modesto, Calif. Filed Feb. 1, 1962, Ser. No. 170,864 1 Claim. (Cl. 58-90) This invention relates to timepieces, and more particularly to means for sealing the space between the crown and the case of a watch.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved means for sealing the space between the crown and the case of a watch, said means involving relatively simple parts, being non-interfering with the winding or setting of the watch, and being very inconspicuous in appearance.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved crown-sealing construction for a timepiece, such as a watch, or the like, said construction requiring relatively inexpensive components, being easy to install, permitting the timepiece to be wound or set in its usual manner, and providing a reliable waterproof seal between the crown and the case of the timepiece.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and claim, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a watch provided with an improved sealing structure in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially on line 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical cross sectional view similar to FIGURE 2, but showing the watch with its crown in Winding position.

FIGURE 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view similar to FIGURE 2, but showing the watch with its crown in time-setting position.

FIGURE 5 is a transverse vertical cross-sectional view taken on line 55 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view, with parts in crosssection of the sealing elements employed in the assembly of FIGURES l to 5, said elements being shown in separated positions.

Referring to the drawings, 11 generally designates a watch having a generally circular case 12 provided with a peripheral wall 13. The watch 11 includes a conventional movement 14 provided with a stem 15 which projects radially therefrom and which is employed for winding the watch and for setting its hands. The stem 15 extends axially into an outwardly projecting sleeve member 16, said sleeve member being rigidly secured in an aperture 17 formed in the peripheral wall 13 of case 12.

A fiat annular sealing gasket 18 of resilient deformable material, such as rubber, or the like, is sealingly secured around the sleeve member 16 adjacent to and in engagement with the peripheral wall 13.

Sleeve member 16 is formed with a first annular groove 19 of generally V-shaped cross-section, said groove being located adjacent the gasket 18, the groove comprising an outer annular wall 20 which converges toward the case 12 and an inner annular wall 21 which is located in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of stem 15. Sleeve member 16 is formed with a second annular groove 22 of generally semi-circular cross-sectional shape, the groove 22 being spaced outwardly from the first annular groove 19.

Designated at 23 is an inner crown member which is threadedly secured on the end of stem 15 and which is slidably engaged inside the sleeve member 16. Crown member 23 is formed with an outer flange 24, said flange being formed with four evenly spaced lugs 25 projecting from its periphery.

Designated at 26 is the outer crown member of the 3,130,539 Patented Apr. 28, 1964 lice watch, said outer crown member being formed with a cylindrical cavity 27 in which is rigidly secured an internal sleeve member 28. The internal sleeve member 28 slidably receives the sleeve member 16 and is formed at 'its inner end with four evenly spaced, longitudinally extending, arcuate peripheral lugs 29 defining notches 30 therebetween of suflicient width to slidably receive the lugs 25, and defining a substantially annular bearing seat 31 for the flange 24, so that the main outer crown member 26 is slidably but non-rotatably secured on the flange 24 of the inner crown member 23, and is supported on the sleeve member 16 for limited longitudinal sliding movement thereon.

The internal sleeve member 28 is formed adjacent its outer end with an annular internal groove 32, of substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape, in which is positioned a generally circular resilient split ring 33 which resiliently grips sleeve member 16 but which is slidable thereon responsive to longitudinal force exerted on the outer crown member 26. Normally, the resilient ring member 33 is engaged in the V-shaped groove 19, said ring member being partly in the retaining groove 32, as shown in FIGURE 2. Under these conditions, the gasket member 18 is placed under sealing compression and the contractile force of the ring member 33 holds the crown member 26 pressed tightly against the gasket 18 with the rim of internal sleeve member 28 and the rim of the crown member 26 both in sealing contact with the gasket. This seals olf the cavity 27 with respect to the atmosphere.

When it is necessary to wind the watch, the main crown member 26 is pulled outwardly, whereby the resilient split ring member 33 is forced out of groove 19 and is moved outwardly along sleeve member 16 until it snaps into groove 22, as shown in FIGURE 3. This holds the crown member 26 and internal sleeve member 28 in positions spaced sufficiently from gasket 18 so that the crown member may be rotated freely to wind up the Watch.

When it is desired to set the hands of the watch, the stem 15 is pulled out to setting position by pulling the main crown member 26 outwardly to the position of FIGURE 4. Thus, the ring 33 is forced past the groove 22 and slides on the sleeve member 16. The seat 31 abuts the flange 24 to limit outward movement of the main crown member 26 to the position shown in FIG- URE 4, in which position the stem 15 is in the position therof necessary for setting the hands of the watch.

When the main crown member 26 is returned to the position of FIGURE 2, which is its normal position, the crown member again sealingly engages the gasket 18, as above described, and is held in sealing position by the force of ring member 33.

While a specific embodiment of a means to seal the space between the crown and the case of a watch has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore it is intended that no limitations be placed on the invention except as defined by the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In a timepiece, a case having a peripheral wall, a movement disposed in said case and having a stem projecting through said wall, a sleeve member rigidly secured to said wall and surrounding said stem, a resilient deformable gasket engagedly surrounding said sleeve member and engaging said Wall, an inner crown member having an outer flanged portion provided with spaced peripheral lugs slidably disposed in said sleeve member and fixed to said stem, an outer crown member having a radial gasket-engaging sealing surface on its inner end, an internal sleeve member rigidly secured in said outer crown member having longitudinally extending spaced arcuate lugs on one end portion engageable for slidable and nonrotatable connectionwith said spaced peripheral: lugs on said flanged portion of said inner crown member, said sleeve member having a generally V-shaped peripheral groove spaced outwardly from said gasket, said sleeve member having a second arcuate peripheral groove spaced outwardly from said V-shaped groove, said internal sleeve member having an internal annular groove and a contractable. ring disposed in said internal annular groove engaging said sleeve member, whereby said contractable ring engaging a wall of said V-shaped groove will hold said sealing surface in deforming engagement with said resilient deformable gasket to provide a moisture-tight seal between said outer crown member and said case,

movement of said outer crown member outwardly to engage said contractable ring in said second arcuate peripheral groove permitting rotation of said outer crown member to wind said timepiece and further outward movement of said outer crown member'to disengage said contractable ring from said second arcuate peripheral groove permitting rotation of said outer crown member to set said timepiece.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,062,637 Bulova Dec. 1, 1936 2,867,079 Pfisterer Jan. 6, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 170,143 Switzerland Oct. 1, 1934 207,377 Switzerland Oct. 31, 1939 825,660 Great Britain Dec. 16, 1959 

